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Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulties

Students with Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulties (SPLDS) should register with Student Disability Services and be assessed by them. This is the only way your dyslexia or other learning difficulty can be taken into account. Student Disability Services can also organise a free Chartered Psychologists Report if you do not already have one. Because the number of free reports that are available is very limited you need to see someone in Disability Services as early in the term as possible - and by the end of the first term at the latest. They can also help you apply for a special grant for a computer, and other special equipment and training.

If you are dyslexic or if you have never been assessed for dyslexia before but think you maybe dyslexic, you can make an appointment to meet with a Disability Adviser – or go to one of the daily drop-in sessions (Monday to Thursday, 2pm-4pm; term-time only). To arrange an appointment please call the Student Disability Services Office on 020 7679 0100. or email disability@ucl.ac.uk.

You will need to take evidence of any existing diagnosis. This will need to be a full diagnostic assessment carried out after you were 16 years old by a psychologist with a practising certificate or a specialist teacher holding an assessment practising certificate. If you have an assessment carried out before you were 16, you will be advised to have a top-up assessment. These top-up assessments are available free of charge though are limited and as such should be arranged as early as possible. After this assessment you will be provided with a full diagnostic report.

Please also inform your personal tutor - so that appropriate help can be given on all your courses.

Special Exam Arrangements

Student Disability Services will submit an application on your behalf to the University Dyslexia Committee once they have your Chartered Psychologists Report. The Committee can, for example, give you extra time in your examinations or a note on your examination scripts informing examiners about your dyslexia.

Please note - no report = no application.

Early action is essential. You are responsible for obtaining the necessary documentation, not the Department.

Your examination arrangements (e.g. extra time, use of a computer) will be based on your performance at an assessment, and your assessor will make the necessary arrangements with the Examination Section. Students who can supply a post-16 diagnostic report will need to have a short "Exams Assessment", lasting around one hour in order to determine these arrangements. For students who require a top-up assessment no further appointment is needed. You are responsible for obtaining the necessary, so be sure to do so in good time.

At UCL, the amount of extra time granted relates to the severity of the current effects of your dyslexia on the speed and accuracy of your reading and writing. The amount of extra time granted ranges from five to twenty minutes per hour – and may differ from the provision you may have received previously. If you have handwriting difficulties, measures of proficiency in typing are also taken and, if appropriate, you may be granted permission to use a PC in exams. After the short assessment you will have the opportunity to discuss your wider support needs (such as tuition in study skills). Extended library borrowing time will be arranged and you will be given stickers to attach to your course work to alert markers that you are dyslexic. The stickers refer your markers to the UCL guidance for assessing the work of students with specific learning difficulties. Your assessor will liaise with the Examination Section regarding your exam arrangements and you will be asked if you agree for us to inform your course administrator about the outcome of the assessment.